European Parliament resolution of 20 April 2023 on repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Aleksei Navalny (2023/2657(RSP))
Date: 2023-04-20
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, Russia, censorship, dissidence, fundamental rights, government violence, human rights, imprisonment, international sanctions, repression








C_202300450EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/450


1.12.2023






P9_TA(2023)0115
Repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Aleksei Navalny
European Parliament resolution of 20 April 2023 on repression in Russia, in particular the cases of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Aleksei Navalny (2023/2657(RSP))
(C/2023/450)



The European Parliament,






—


having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia,










—


having regard to Rule 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,










A.


whereas Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russo-British journalist and opposition activist, was sentenced on 17 April 2023 to 25 years in prison for criticising Vladimir Putin’s regime and its war of aggression against Ukraine;










B.


whereas the Russian regime has been steadily increasing its repression of its population and political opponents to levels reminiscent of the Stalin-era show trials under the infamous Article 58 of the Penal Code;










C.


whereas Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian political figure and laureate of the Sakharov Prize 2021, remains incarcerated in a penal colony where he has been subject to ill treatment, including torture, arbitrary punishment and psychological pressure;










D.


whereas the health of Vladimir Kara-Murza and Alexei Navalny is rapidly deteriorating due to mistreatment and lack of proper medical care, with Kara-Murza having been diagnosed with polyneuropathy and Navalny suffering from suspected poisoning;










E.


whereas the Kremlin regime’s harsh treatment of Russian citizens is a criminal violation of human rights, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and may amount to a crime against humanity;













1.


Strongly condemns the politically motivated conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza by the Russian authorities and demands his and Alexei Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release, as well as the release of all other political prisoners;












2.


Expresses serious concerns about the rapid deterioration of Vladimir Kara-Murza’s and Alexei Navalny’s health and reminds Russia of its international obligations, in particular regarding their access to medical treatment, lawyers and communication with their families;












3.


Stands in solidarity with Vladimir Kara-Murza, his wife Evgenia, his family, as well as with all other brave Russians who, despite the widespread repression and severe personal consequences, still find the courage to speak the truth and uphold human values;












4.


Welcomes the establishment of 30 October Foundation — a non-profit organisation aiming to help Russian political prisoners and their families, continuing the missions of Yelena Bonner’s Fund to Help Children of Political Prisoners and Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Russian Public Fund to Aid Political Prisoners and their Families, both established in the 1970s to support those suffering under Soviet repression;












5.


Urges the Council to adopt tough sanctions under the EU’s global human rights sanctions regime (the EU’s Magnitsky Act) against Russian judges, prosecutors and other individuals responsible for arbitrary prosecutions, detentions and torture in the context of politically motivated trials;












6.


Urges the Council to adopt restrictive measures against those responsible for the arbitrary arrest and detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alexei Navalny, Ilya Yashin, Alexei Gorinov and others, including the judges Sergey Podoprigorov, Elena Lenskaya, Diana Mishchenko, Ilya Kozlov, Andrei Sedushev, Olesya Mendeleeva, Oksana Goryunpva, Margarita Kotova, Maria Dovzhenko, Maria Larkina, Ilnar Basyrov, Natalia Vlasenko, Igor Chaplygin, Ekaterina Pirozhkova, Alexander Kolyshnitsyn, the prosecutors and the people supporting them, including Oleg Alypov, Vera Chervonova, Svetlana Zhuravleva, Boris Loktionov, Anatoly Razinkin, Nadezhda Tikhonova, Danila Mikheev and Sergei Belov, the member of the Investigative Committee Andrei Zadachin, the head of the Khamovniki police precinct Mikhail Smirnov, as well as the head of the SIZO-5 pre-trial detention centre Dmitry Komnov;












7.


Denounces the escalation of human rights violations by the Russian regime and condemns the ongoing crackdown on government critics, human rights defenders and independent journalists; calls on the UN Human Rights Council to conduct an immediate investigation into the acts of inhuman imprisonment, torture and murder of political opponents;












8.


Urges the EU and the UK to coordinate efforts to secure Vladimir Kara-Murza’s release;












9.


Reiterates its call for the diplomatic representations of the EU and its Member States to continue to closely monitor court proceedings against political opponents and their prison conditions;












10.


Urges the Member States to provide humanitarian visas and other support to Russian dissidents at risk of political prosecution;












11.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Member States, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Russian authorities and to make it available in the Russian language.






ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/450/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)